The Sinful Silent Serpent
HEALTH CORNER
KIRAN BHAGAT
| Monday December 15, 2008 00:00
It has even been connected to the development of dementia.
Around 1.2 billion people around the world are known to have higher than normal blood pressure and there are countless others that do not know what their reading is.
There are usually no symptoms, hence it being known as the silent killer, and the only way of knowing if you have high blood pressure is to have it checked by your doctor. The test is painless and only takes a few minutes and is very worthwhile as, if left unchecked; high blood pressure will continue its detrimental effect on your blood vessels.
What can you do?
There are many steps you can take to avoid or to reduce high blood pressure. The majority of cases, especially in younger people are caused by lifestyle factors and can be influenced just by making a few changes to your lifestyle.
Salt
It may seem like an innocent white powder that adds flavour to our cooking but don't be fooled: there is clear evidence that a high-salt diet is linked to high blood pressure. In fact, every year over innumerable heart attacks and strokes worldwide are directly linked to high blood pressure caused by eating too much salt.
The recommended daily limit is six grams per day, that's around a teaspoon, however most adults in the country eat nearly double that amount, putting them at risk of developing high blood pressure.
Cutting salt out of your diet will have a speedy and dramatic effect on blood pressure and your taste buds will quickly become accustomed to the true flavour of food without salt.
Over 70 percent of the salt we eat comes from the processed foods we buy so the best way to limit our salt consumption is to banish the saltcellar from the kitchen and dinner table.
Making meals from scratch using raw ingredients rather than ready made, tinned or frozen food is a good way to start reducing your salt intake. When cooking meals, use herbs and spices instead of salt to give that extra bite and flavour without adding to the risk of heart disease. Checking food labels for salt content when shopping is also important and can help you to make a healthier choice, but how much is too much?
Weight
Being the right weight for your height will help to control blood pressure and also have many other benefits. Eating a healthy diet, low in saturated fat and sugar and including lots of fruit and vegetables, as well as taking regular exercise will help.
Alcohol
If you drink too much alcohol, you are more likely to suffer from high blood pressure. You should avoid drinking more than the recommended daily amount of two units of alcohol a day for women and three for men.
Exercise
Regular exercise will not only lower your blood pressure, it will also help to keep you trim, reduce cholesterol levels and improve your general wellbeing.
The recommended amount of exercise to keep your heart healthy is 30 minutes a day at least five times a week. This refers to moderate intensity exercise, such as brisk walking, and it will help to keep your heart healthy. If you want weight loss you will need to increase the intensity and length of your exercise.
Medication
Sometimes medication is needed to reduce very high blood pressure, however lifestyle changes will help to prevent it and keep it down and reduce your risk of getting heart disease.
If you are on prescribed medication, ensure you take it faithfully. There is no cure for blood pressure but together with the correct lifestyle and medicine, it can be very easily controlled.
It is also important to take precautions that certain prescribed and over the counter medicines are not taken (or are cautiously used) when one has hypertension.
The commonest culprits in raising blood pressure are pain tablets such as brufen(r) compral(r) disprin(r), aspirin(r) indocid(r) myprodol(r) and other related anti-inflammatories. Others include certain flu medication and steroids.
Always check with your practitioner about the possible links between what you might be taking and its effects on your pressure.